COIMBATORE: The DMK govt has not implemented any “meaningful infrastructure projects” for Coimbatore, former AIADMK minister S P Velumani said on Tuesday. He said the only project the ruling party could point to was the Semmozhi Poonga which, he said, was not even their original vision but rather a dream associated with late chief minister M Karunanidhi.Velumani made these remarks while introducing Amman K Arjunan, the sitting MLA of Coimbatore North whom AIADMK is fielding in Coimbatore South for the April 23 assembly election. He appealed to the cadres to intensely indulge in door-to-door campaigns and defeat DMK candidate V Senthil Balaji by a margin of 50,000 votes.“Coimbatore South stands as a star constituency because of its development, all implemented during the AIADMK period. All flyovers, including the Sungam flyover and Ukkadam flyover, and all Smart City projects, especially the rejuvenation of the seven lakes, were implemented during the AIADMK rule. But the DMK has utterly failed to maintain all these facilities. We have to win in this constituency to maintain our prestige and reputation,” said Velumani.He said DMK’s five-year rule had led to hikes in property tax, electricity tariff and construction material costs.He said, “Important projects like the Athikadavu-Avinashi scheme II are facing a long delay, hindering water supply to many areas. Without addressing these problems, DMK continues to blame the central govt stating that the Centre had not done anything for the state, which is baseless.”Velumani attacked TVK leader Vijay. Referring to the Karur tragedy that claimed 41 lives, he said, “Vijay could not protect even his own party cadres. How can he be trusted to stand up for the public? He appealed to cadres not to let any third party, particularly TVK, secure a single vote in Coimbatore.Addressing the gathering, Amman K Arjunan said this election would be a battle between democracy and capital power. “What more can the DMK point out in this south constituency, except the Semmozhi park? Coimbatore is and will continue to be the fort of AIADMK,” he said.
